Dear Parents,
I hope that you and your extended families remain well.
It has been another busy week, as you will see from the vast array of photographs below.
I have always felt that a sign of good teaching is evidence of children’s original thinking. Looking at the results of the children’s work this week, their originality of thought shines through. Although there are basic skills (such as reading) that children should practise and master, good education is about problem-solving through independent and creative thinking. You have clearly encouraged your child to do this at home. Thank you and well done.
Teachers are planning a full range of lessons and activities but if your child shows a particular interest in one activity, please give them time to extend their learning. There is as much benefit in exploring one activity deeply, as working quickly and more superficially through a number of tasks. Our teachers understand this, so please don't feel pressure to upload work from every set task.
As staff we feel in a state of limbo. The government is hinting at a return to school on 1st June, but we will have no clarity on this until we hear the PM's briefing on Sunday. On the one hand we have listened to your suggestions for improvements to our online provision, whilst on the other we are meeting regularly to plan for a safe re-opening of both sites. I suspect that a return to school will include a mix of face-to-face and online learning. Behind the scenes we are gearing up for a potential school opening so that everyone has plenty of notice about school logistics for the second half of term.
A reminder that tomorrow is a bank holiday, so although teachers have planned activities, these are completely optional. Teachers will respond to any uploaded videos, photographs and messages on Monday. Although it's a holiday, the children won't want to miss Matthew's Friday music sessions. His film clips have been amalgamated to make access simpler for you.
I will contact you early next week, once we have more clarity on school openings. In the meantime, thank you for your hard work with your children and enjoy the sun while it lasts.
Warm regards,
Kate